I mostly played EASHL in '11, and there are lots of thigns that are wrong with it. Too may people cheating (using "glitches", cheating the system to add more attributes, etc).

In BAGM, the top draft picks never amount to anything, and they don't improve enough year to year. This past draft class were rated way too low because the last years draft class was the priority, so guys like Lando and Huberdeau will never make the NHL, but RNH is a star.

Players ask for way too much money as well. But they said they fixed that in '12.

Dash wrote:I mostly played EASHL in '11, and there are lots of thigns that are wrong with it. Too may people cheating (using "glitches", cheating the system to add more attributes, etc).

In BAGM, the top draft picks never amount to anything, and they don't improve enough year to year. This past draft class were rated way too low because the last years draft class was the priority, so guys like Lando and Huberdeau will never make the NHL, but RNH is a star.

Players ask for way too much money as well. But they said they fixed that in '12.

What's EASHL?

I agree, it's annoying that Landeskog, Huberdeau, Strome are all rated so poorly. Couturier also takes forever to farm properly. I don't even think Zibanejad is in there, or I've missed him.

As for the top picks, I do it slowly, year by year, play 40 or so NHL games and 10 or more AHL games, but SG11 plays sim only, so she does a year a night (or every few nights whatever) and her scouting is sky high now. The last pick she got was 1st overall and it was labelled a "FRANCHISE" player. He immediately came into the league as an 88 with still potential to grow.

I've never seen a franchise player yet. Zibanejad's not in the game. My last BaGM I started and I am playing all the games... just past the All-Star game. Made a few trades here and there. I put Radulov as a FA and signed him, somehow got Lucic, McGinn and Couture, Bieksa and Polak. Good team.

EASHL is like Be a Pro but online with other players. You can join clubs with friends and play together or just join games with strangers.

It's because you're playing games in the season instead of simming all the time like Mel. I like to play some of the actual games too, so I haven't advanced as far as she has (she's done the full 10 years or whatever). I believe she said she was on year 2015 and had gotten a franchise player.

The trade logic the ysay the have fixed this coming year, but just to show you how bad it is in '11, I traded Couture and McGinn to Pittsburgh for Crosby and Godard, then tried to trade Crosby for Oshie but St. Louis refused. I ended up having to trade Crosby + a late pick for Stamkos, then Stamkos straight up for Oshie in order for it to work. I didn't want Crosby or Stamkos because they are too expensive.

Dash wrote:The trade logic the ysay the have fixed this coming year, but just to show you how bad it is in '11, I traded Couture and McGinn to Pittsburgh for Crosby and Godard, then tried to trade Crosby for Oshie but St. Louis refused. I ended up having to trade Crosby + a late pick for Stamkos, then Stamkos straight up for Oshie in order for it to work. I didn't want Crosby or Stamkos because they are too expensive.

Yeah, there's always gonna be issues with values etc. I think. I run into the same issues from time to time.

They said in their development blogs they have improved trade AI. They said if you offered Crosby for Horcoff, no matter what Edmonton was looking for, they would accept the deal, just as an example. A lot of times teams rejected trades because they wanted to "improve defence".

Ahhh the NHL seriesÖthis is the video game series that I have BY FAR wasted more of my time on than any other. And Iíve loved almost every second of it. Iíve owned and thoroughly enjoyed every iterationÖfrom NHL í92 (I think it was just called NHL Hockey) up to and including NHL 11.

The trade logic has to be very difficult to program, especially with salary cap considerations factored in. For the most part, I find it pretty effective and accurate, but you definitely do run into oddball situations.

As for the prospects, I was as disappointed as anybody when I was able to draft Landeskog in the 4th round, only to see he has a 64 rating (or something like that). At the time of release, the programmers wouldnít be able to accurately rate prospects a year ahead of their draft, but this is something Iíd like to see addressed with patches.

The gameplay itself has advanced so much that itís come to a point where they really canít make big changes. The change thatís being touted this year is the ability to run the goalies. This is kinda like how they introduced broken sticks last year. Smallish additions that make everything seem more real. Also, the new hitting engine looks pretty sweet (three player collisions, etc).

I find even if youíre not a big fan of the gameplay out-of-the-box, there are so many adjustment sliders you can fiddle with, youíre bound to find some combination that makes it enjoyable for yourself.

On the topic of franchise players, you certainly donít see them often. Iíve probably gone through around 15 seasons of the Be a GM mode, and Iíve seen two franchise players. I was able to snag one, and he immediately became my #2 centre, and soon was my #1. I think he ended up with around a 91 rating, after starting with something in the mid-80s.

I am a GM mode fiend myself, and canít wait to give this yearís edition a whirl. Really, they could change nothing and just provide updated rosters and player ratings, and Iíd happily hand over my $60.

The blog also states that the demo will feature 3 features: Play a game, the new revamped Be a Pro, and Ultimate team (with the possibility of earning 2 free packs, plus gaining a 3rd for referring the demo to someone else).

I found that when you wound up for a slap shot (which typically stops your skating in NHL 11) that you maintain some momentum while gliding and your body moves more fluidly and the shot comes off more realistically.

As for hitting, I like that not every hit is a bone crusher. Smaller, weaker guys like Seguin are more likely to bounce off of a stronger player, whereas Chara and Horton will throw a much bigger hit. Players react differently when hit, like falling/stumbling or getting flattened.

One thing I hope they fix is the goalie contact. I was able to pound the goalie with crosschecks after the whistle and not penalties were called at all. Also I noticed if you take control of your goalie after a whistle and make him skate to centre ice, it will initiate a fight automatically.

Dash wrote:I found that when you wound up for a slap shot (which typically stops your skating in NHL 11) that you maintain some momentum while gliding and your body moves more fluidly and the shot comes off more realistically.

As for hitting, I like that not every hit is a bone crusher. Smaller, weaker guys like Seguin are more likely to bounce off of a stronger player, whereas Chara and Horton will throw a much bigger hit. Players react differently when hit, like falling/stumbling or getting flattened.

One thing I hope they fix is the goalie contact. I was able to pound the goalie with crosschecks after the whistle and not penalties were called at all. Also I noticed if you take control of your goalie after a whistle and make him skate to centre ice, it will initiate a fight automatically.

hahaha, I heard about the goalie fights. Is it easy to get used to the controls - or are they the same.

Is the skating annoying, or are you used to the slower skating immediately. I might have to get the demo afterall.